Guardian Angel Of The Night
by Meiousei Dark
Summary: Greg's life wasn't always easy. His parents died when he was a baby and his brother mysteriously disappeared one day. Since then he's been living with a family of frogs. When he asks to go on a journey, he can only if Jason goes along with him. The two meet a grumpy bluebird named Beatrice who is hiding something. Who is the person following them, and why does he seem so familiar?
1. Chapter 1: Gregory Funderburker

Chapter 1: Gregory Funderburker

It was just a normal, sunny day in the Unknown one day. The birds were chirping, the trees were swaying and the leaves were being tossed around by the wind. Nearby, there was a huge cabin filled with comfy furniture, a kitchen with a huge table and a huge backyard with tons of activities for kids to play with, which was what was happening at that very moment.

The cabin belonged to the Funderburkers. The Funderburkers are a family of frogs who live in the Unknown. The family consisted of Mama Funderburker, Papa Funderburker, Auntie, Uncle, Grandma, Grandpa, and many, many children roamed through the house. One child however, was different from the others. He was different, because he was not a frog like the rest of his family, he was human.

Gregory, or Greg as everyone called him, was a little plump boy with brown hair.

His life wasn't always easy. His parents died when he was just a baby, and his brother mysteriously disappeared one day, and no one knows what happened to him. The only thing the little boy had of his human family was half of a locket that contained a picture of his older brother. In the picture, his brother was a tall boy with a scarecrow like nose and messy brown hair. The only detail he remembered about his brother was that his name was Wirt, and that's all he knew. He had little to no information about his parents, though.

Even though he had a rough past, Greg was a kid who loved to sing and have fun. He loved to make up songs and sing them all the time. He was on very good terms with his frog siblings, and they all got along just fine. Half of his siblings had the ability to talk and half of them didn't. The ones, who could talk, however, taught Greg things that he could use when he grows up and goes out into the world.

His brother, Anthony, taught him some words and phrases in Japanese, while Greg's sister, Mirabelle taught him some words and phrases in Chinese. Bradley taught him how to say some things in French, and Allison taught him how to speak the basics in Vietnamese. Greg could now speak French, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian, and English, being his first and main language.

He didn't mind learning a bunch of different languages, in fact, he would love to learn new things to help him better communicate with the world. Many of Greg's frog brothers and sisters were currently playing outside in the backyard.

"Alright everyone, it's time to come inside." Mama Funderburker said as she stood on the back porch, watching the children. The sun was setting, and after dark was not a good place for children with The Beast around. Greg joined his frog mother on the back porch. "But mom!" whined Jeffry, one of the younger frogs "We want to see the Pilgrim of the Night." "Yeah" said another frog, Tamara. "He's so cool."

Their mother chuckled. "Well if you go inside and get ready for bed, you can have some cookies from the oven." Immediately, the frogs ran inside the house, almost running their human brother over. "Whoa" Greg said as he almost fell, but he was caught by his frog mother. "Thanks Mama Funderburker, I almost fell down." His mother smiled. "You're welcome, Gregory." Greg smiled up at his mother and the two made their way inside the house.

The Pilgrim of the Night was incredibly legendary in the Unknown. He was known as a crime fighter, always bringing justice to people who deserved it, but he only did that at night and he was always hidden in the shadows, so no one knew what he looked like. He had incredible fighting skills though, and he was feared by criminals everywhere. Greg really looked up to him and thought that he wanted to be like him someday.

The little boy walked into the kitchen, and saw his frog siblings munching away on some cookies. Greg wasn't all that hungry, so he decided to head to his room. The hallway was really long and narrow as the house was so big. He opened the door to his bedroom, which contained a window, two beds, and a desk. In one of the beds, was Greg's brother and roommate Jason, fast asleep. Greg smiled at the sight. Jason always had a thing for going to bed early.

Jason Funderburker was a…rare case. He could communicate, but not by talking. The frog had a very beautiful voice when he sang. He was adored by his family and anyone who heard his mellifluous voice. Greg smiled and kissed his frog brother on the forehead. Jason croaked in his sleep. Greg giggled and was about to get into bed, when he heard something tapping on his window.

"Huh?" the little boy asked. He walked over to the window, and when he pulled the curtain back, he saw a little bluebird pecking at his window. "Awww" the boy said. He opened the window to get a better look at the bird. "What are you doing here?" he asked. The bird was silent. It just sat there staring at him. "My name is Greg, what's yours?"

He received no response from the blue bird that just continued to stare at him. "Oh you can't talk? I understand." The bird stared at him a second before flying off. Greg stuck his head out the window. "It was nice to meet you!" he yelled after it. Greg stared at the direction the bird flew, than sighed. All that yelling and talking had woken Jason up. The frog croaked. Greg turned and saw that his roommate was awake.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jason, I was just talking to that little blue bird out there." The frog croaked again. Greg, then remembered something very important. "Wait a second, before you go back to sleep, did you remember to get…" Greg looked around the room, then opened the bedroom door and looked both ways to make sure no one was around to listen. He then shut the door and went back over to Jason with his eyes all shiny. "Did you get…the stuff?" The little boy whispered the last part.

Jason smiled and pulled something out from underneath his pillows. He had a bag of gingerbread cookies, smuggled directly from Mama Funderburker. There was a lot more to Jason than just singing.

"Aww, yeah!" Greg said, excited. The two continued to munch on cookies, careful not to talk loud enough to wake up anyone trying to sleep. The two continued to eat, until they heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Greg quietly panicked.

"Ah, quick, Mama Funderburkers' coming, act like you've been asleep." Greg and Jason scattered ad hopped into bed. When Mama Funderburker opened the door, she saw Jason and Greg, fast asleep in their beds. She smiled and silently closed the door to the bedroom. The two waited until she was gone, then the two opened their eyes and continued to eat cookies.

* * *

The same blue bird that greeted Greg at his window earlier, was flying through the darkness of the Unknown. The only thing to guide it through the night sky, was the shining full moon. The blue bird continued to fly, until it reached its destination. It landed on a rock that sat near a cliff. The view from the cliff at night was beautiful. It didn't notice as a shadowy figure stood next to it.

"Did you find him?" the figure asked. The blue bird looked up from its thoughts and spoke. "Yes, I found him" The bird said in a female voice.

"How is he doing?" the figure asked the bird. "He seems to be doing just fine." The blue bird answered. "Good. I wouldn't want anything happening to him." The blue bird sighed and continued to look at the scenery, when the figure spoke again.

"Um, that reminds me, I kind of got into some trouble, would you mind helping bail me out?" The bird sighed and face-winged herself, than looked back up at the figure with a smile. "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" The figure didn't respond. "Fine, let's go." The bird and the shadowed figure continued to walk and fly through the woods, headed towards their destination, while back at the cabin, Little Gregory and his frog brother, Jason, were already sound asleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Journies And Clarinet Songs

Chapter 2: Journies and Clarinet Songs

The next morning, Greg woke up in his bed, and he felt miserable. He now regretted eating so many cookies before bed, as Mama Funderburker warned him about time and time again. Jason was feeling the same way as well. The two brothers made their way into the kitchen, moaning and groaning like a couple of zombies. The other siblings took notice of this and they immediately knew something was wrong.

"Whoa, what happened to you two?" Bradley asked. "Uuuggghhh." Was all that Greg could manage to get out. "You'd better tell Mama you're not feeling well." Jason croaked something similar to Greg's sick, unearthly moan. Just then, Mama Funderburker walked in to the kitchen, as bright as the sunshine outside. She then noticed her two sick children standing in the middle of the room.

"What's wrong? Are you two okay?" Greg and Jason were the only ones to notice that a small smile appeared across her face. The frog and the human questioned this. "I remember having a bag of gingerbread cookies, do you two happen to know where they went?" The two brothers panicked internally, until Greg decided to confess.

"It was my fault!" Greg admitted "I stole the cookies and gave some to Jason, I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" Jason was surprised by Greg's sudden confession, but he couldn't let him take the blame for it. Jason hopped in front of Gregory and started waving his hands, telling everyone that he was the one who stole the cookies.

Their mother raised an eyebrow, and then started to laugh. "Huh?" Greg asked. Their mother stopped laughing and looked at the two brothers. "I had purposely set those cookies out for you to steal, making you think you stole them." Greg and Jason's eyes widened in surprise. "Maybe it'll teach you two not to go behind my back when I'm not looking."

Greg and Jason looked down at the ground in shame. "We're sorry, Mama Funderburker." Greg said. Jason croaked a saddened croak and looked down at the ground as well. Their mother laughed. "That's quite alright boys, just don't let it happen again." The two muddled off to their room, still feeling a terrible feeling in their stomachs. They moaned all the way, until they hopped in their nice, soft beds.

As Greg lay in bed, he started thinking about something he'd been thinking about for a while now. He hardly knew anything about his past, so he has been thinking about going on a journey. A journey is a quest that a person goes on, in order to find self-discovery.

Greg thought that going on a journey could help him figure some things out. The only problem however, was getting his parents to agree to it. It wouldn't be easy, but he was willing to try whatever he could to get his frog elders to agree with letting him go.

He took another look at Jason, who was already fast asleep. He wondered how him leaving would impact Jason. Greg loved all his frog brothers and sisters, but he had the strongest bond with Jason. Greg smiled and kissed his brother on his forehead, before thinking more about his journey.

* * *

Little Gregory was walking through the forest, pondering on how he was going to ask his frog parents to let him go on a journey. He kicked a pebble in front of him, and it skipped all the way to a tree directly In front of him. When he looked at the tree however, he saw that it was on fire. The little boy looked around and saw that the whole forest he was in had been caught and engulfed by the flames.

He tried to make a run for it, but the entire forest was on fire. Just then, he felt two arms wrap around him. He looked up at the person. He couldn't see the person very well, but somehow, something deep within Greg knew and trusted the figure.

The shadowy figure carried Greg through the burning forest, and then stopped. Standing in front of them, were three other figures, whom Greg couldn't make out. They all resembled canines in a way.

The figure gently sat Greg down on the ground. "Stay here" the figure said in a kind, deep voice. The figure than kissed Greg on the forehead, sending warmth down the young boys' spine.

The shadow stood to face the creatures. One of the monsters lunged at the figure, but the shadow retaliated by pulling out a sword and swinging at the monsters. The shadowed beasts tried to scratch and get a hold of the figure, but the shadow was too fast.

The shadow wasn't looking however, and the alpha of the group was able to claw the figure and send the shadow falling to the ground. Greg's eyes widened in horror as the little boy saw the rose red blood coming from the limp body of the figure that had just saved him. What had he done to end up in this nightmare?

* * *

Greg shot straight up from his bed, sweating. His heart was beating almost out of his chest. He started to calm down when he realized it was just a nightmare. Jason was fast asleep, oblivious to the noise Greg was making.

The little boy pulled back the window curtains and saw the moon high in the sky. As he continued to calm down by staring at the moon, Greg's heartbeat started to return to normal. He had been having nightmares a lot recently. Who was the shadowy figure who kept appearing to protect him? He had no idea. Greg turned away from the window and closed the curtains.

He got back underneath the covers of his bed, about to go back to sleep, when he heard it.

The boy's eyes shot wide open as he heard the beautiful sound coming from outside. He pulled back the curtain and opened the window, as he continued to listen to the sound of a beautiful clarinet.

It was strange. Whenever Greg had a nightmare, he always heard a clarinet playing outside his window in the distance in the dead of night. Greg smiled. He didn't know who was playing, but songs from the clarinet were some of the most beautiful songs he had ever heard in his life.

Gregory smiled and mentally thanked whoever was playing, then Greg decided to keep the window open, so he could hear the sound of the beautiful clarinet as he slowly drifted to sleep.

* * *

The shadowy figure stood on top of a cliff that was looking down at the cabin. The shadows clarinet playing came to an end, once the figure was sure that the boy had fallen asleep. The figure sighed and didn't notice as the blue bird came flying in and landed in one of the trees behind the shadow.

"He had another nightmare again, didn't he?"

The shadow sighed and put the clarinet away. "Hey, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for quite a while now" The bird said "How can you tell if he's had a nightmare?" The figure shrugged, "I don't know, I just can." The shadow looked back down at the cabin, than sighed.

"Even though I cannot physically be there to comfort him, I want to tell him that it will be okay through my melodies of love."

The figure said this in the most poetic way possible. The bird looked up from her thoughts, and smiled. "You're a dork, you know that, right?" The figure smiled. "Yes, I believe you've mentioned it a few times."

Just then, the bird remembered something. "Come on, we've got to get started." "Oh uh, right, what have you found?" The bird faced a different direction. "I found a gang of thieves over in that direction. I think they're going to rob a farm up North." "Okay then, we'll just have to stop them before they do." The blue bird nodded in agreement.

The two set off toward their destination to stop the next crime that was about to occur. It was nothing new to them, they'd been doing it for a while now. Back at the cabin, Greg was already sleeping peacefully with songs of the clarinet filling his dreams.

He had once theorized that the clarinet was magic, and it would comfort him and chase the nightmares away. Greg just loved the beautiful sound of the clarinet and how it would always lull him to sleep, almost as if the clarinet made sure that he was protected and that nothing happened to him while he slept.


	3. Chapter 3: Mysterious Pilgrim

Chapter 3: Mysterious Pilgrim

Late at night, the moon was rising up to the high point in the sky. Somewhere in The Unknown, in the darkness of night, there was a wagon in which people whose faces could barely be seen, were loading stuff onto the wagon. The people in question, four in all, were loading stolen goods from a farm that they had just finished robbing. They knew they had to get their job done quickly in fear of being caught by _him._

The robbers quickly loaded the last of the stolen supplies onto the wagon. The driver of the wagon was about to get in the front seat, when the robbers saw something strange. They heard a little noise that sounded something like a bird. They looked up and saw that a tiny little bird was flying around in circles directly above them.

"Stupid bird must be lost." One of the thieves said. The birds sound only grew louder as it continued to circle above them. The thieves watched as the bird stopped circling and flew down towards a nearby forest entrance. The tiny bird landed on something that the thieves couldn't make out in the darkness. Upon further inspection, it was revealed that the birds perch was a shoulder.

As the shadowed figure drew further and further out of the shadows, the thieves immediately knew whose presence they were in.

"If you want to get out of this alive, then I suggest you start running."

The shadow spoke in a monotone voice, before he pulled out his sword. The thieves pulled out their swords as well, ready to fight the widely known, Pilgrim of the Night. "Your outnumbered, Pilgrim." One of the thieves said in a gruff voice. "You'll never get through us." The Pilgrim never changed the tone in his voice.

"True. I may be outnumbered, but I'm not leaving without that wagon." The leader of the bandits made the first move. He swung his sword down, where it locked with the Pilgrim's. "You can't escape this. There's four of us and only one of you." The thief could see the pilgrim smirk in the shadows. "Maybe, but who's the better fighter?"

The Pilgrim unlocked his sword from the others and immediately began swinging it. Now, the battle was really on. The thief swiped his sword at the hero, but the Pilgrim evaded every single time. The thief continued to become more frustrated the more he missed his target, and the Pilgrim's smirk only seemed to grow wider.

After getting a little bored after a while, the Pilgrim decided to shake the battle up a little bit. The two locked swords again and the thief came face to face with the Pilgrims evil-looking smirk. The shadowed pilgrim knocked the head thief back, where he hid his head hard up against the wagon, rendering him unconscious.

That was the point in the fight where the other three thieves got involved in the battle as well. They all swung their swords, ready to strike the pilgrim down, but the shadow swiftly and easily dodged every one of their attacks. They were all getting as frustrated as their leader was with not being able to hit the figure.

The Pilgrim of the Night was claimed to be an excellent fighter, who's skills could outmatch any criminals, so it shouldn't have been any surprise to them that the pilgrim was winning.

Two of the thieves came at him, one behind the other, so the Pilgrim used his sword to knock the one in front into the one behind, and sent them both crashing to the ground. The other one came up from behind, and the Pilgrim used the end of the sword handle to send him crashing to the ground as well. As the three thieves were groaning in pain, the Pilgrim climbed the wagon and hopped up on top of the roof of the horse pulled vehicle.

"Hey, you can't just leave us like this!" One of the thieves yelled, still in pain.

"Don't worry!" the Pilgrim yelled, the smirk still present "I'll make sure the police come and pick you up!"

The Pilgrim ran across the roof of the wagon and hopped down into the driver's seat, with an impatient bluebird riding shotgun.

"Well it took you long enough." The bird said with annoyance clear in her voice. "Oh come on, I was just having a little fun is all." "Yeah well, have your fun quicker next time." The Pilgrims smirk never left. "Whatever you say." The shadowed pilgrim got the horses moving and the two set off to return the stolen supplies.

* * *

After the bandit heist, the two made their way to the cliff with the view of the waterfall on the opposite side. It was their favorite place to go at night, so they could just lose their troubles in the view of the waterfall.

"That was fun." The pilgrim commented. "I know we've been doing this for years, but I still can't get over that rush." The bird, who was sitting on a nearby tree, smiled at the shadow.

"See, being the Pilgrim of the Night does have its advantages." The Pilgrims smile faded a little. "Yeah, I guess." The figure was about to lose himself in his thoughts as he kept his eye on the waterfall. The bird noticed this and spoke.

"Look, I know it's not always easy being a crime fighter and making tough decisions all the time, but you have to keep in mind why we do these things."

"I do know why we do these things!" The Pilgrim exclaimed "To find a way to turn you back into a human and to keep Greg safe, not to mention all the bandits roaming through The Unknown, plus the shadow creatures that The Beast uses to terrify people! Do you know how many of those things I've killed?!"

The bird stayed silent as the shadowed pilgrim took deep breaths and clamed himself down. "I'm sorry I yelled, I'm just under a lot of pressure right now." The bird smiled. "It's okay, that's what I keep trying to tell you, but you never listen." The Pilgrim looked back up at the bird and smiled a genuine smile.

"Thanks." The Pilgrim sat at the base of a tree. "You know, it's because of you that I'm always one step ahead of the criminals. Thank you for helping me out with that all these years."

The bird smiled. "Well of course, I can't do any actual fighting because I'm a bluebird, but that makes me better at scouting out suspicious activity." The Pilgrim smiled. "I know that. Years remember?"

The bird continued to smile. Just then, the bird noticed how tired she was, and also how tired her companion was. "Um, how much sleep have you gotten lately?" the bird asked. The Pilgrim thought, than shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, I think it's about time we got some sleep."

"Wait, out here? What if those things attack while we're asleep?"

The bird sighed. "You know as well as I do that those things don't come so far out here, they stay more towards the heart of the forest."

"I know…but still."

"Look, there's nothing for you to worry about, now get some rest, because you're going to need it."

The Pilgrim sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine."

The Pilgrim of the Night got on a sleeping position near the base of the tree, while the bird slipped herself under his cape and started to nod off. The shadowed pilgrim fell asleep quickly with his bluebird companion by his side.


	4. Chapter 4: A Yes Answer?

Chapter 4: A Yes Answer?

Greg woke up early the next day refreshed and ready to go as always. He opened the window and saw the sun shining bright. Gregory stretched his arms out and yawned. He looked around the room on Jason's side and saw that his frog brother was still fast asleep. He always slept in even though he always went to bed so early. It was a bit strange but Greg decided not to question it and just went on with his morning.

The young boy walked into the kitchen where he saw biscuits laid out for breakfast. He grabbed one and ate it and then walked out the back door into the back yard where a bunch of his frog siblings were already playing. Most of the little ones would be up early but the older ones would take more time and continue to sleep in. Greg didn't have as much energy as his younger frog siblings but he still liked to wake up early and play with them.

He also liked being with the older ones as they would often have some interesting conversations or wisdom to pass down to him. He enjoyed his siblings and his frog elders. Greg's mind was shifted elsewhere. He thought about his nightmare from the night before.

That strange shadowed figure was always saving him from these monsters, but why? Greg had no idea. The figure from the dream seemed very warm and protective and somehow Greg knew the figure could be trusted. But the tragic part was that at the end of every single one of those nightmares, the shadowed figure would always end up dead and Greg feared for the shadow's safety as well as his own.

Something must have been going on if he had been having the same horrible nightmare for days. But every night, after every nightmare, the clarinet would play and it would always comfort him until he went back to sleep. He still had no idea who or what was playing but sometimes Greg thought that the playing was meant for him and him alone.

Greg smiled as he recalled the beautiful music of the clarinet. He had loved it ever since he was little and he still loved today. It was just so beautiful to his ears. Greg finished up his biscuit and decided to head back inside and into his room. Jason was still fast asleep so Greg decided to just leave him be. The young boy lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

As he kept thinking, his mind started wandering into other places. Greg started thinking about how badly he wanted to go on a journey and find out more about himself since he really didn't know much. The young boy closed his eyes and sighed. If Greg was ever going to go on a journey, he would have to convince his frog elders to let him go, and that would not be easy.

They all did understand that Greg didn't know too much about himself. He had no idea how his parents died or why his only brother disappeared, but they feared for his safety so they wouldn't just be letting him go that easily. It didn't even have to be for a very long time, it could just be for the summer. The summer season would begin in a few days so that would give Greg enough time to at least try and convince them before summer started.

Greg looked over at Jason who was just barely waking up. He looked back up at the ceiling and sighed again, hoping to eventually find a way to convince them that he was ready.

He started brainstorming some ideas that could possibly convince them to let him go, but they didn't sound convincing enough. They would never let him go at this rate and he really wanted to go out and see the wider world. After all he was taught how to speak with the wider world, so why not put his knowledge to use.

Papa Funderburker might be one of the easiest ones to convince, but Mama Funderburker, not so much. In the end, Greg decided that the only way to get them to agree was to ask and keep asking and asking until they finally said yes. This wasn't going to be easy, but Greg at least had to try. Jason was still struggling to wake up so Greg just thought he would leave him there and not bother him for a little while.

He opened the door and walked out into the long hallway where he gently shut his bedroom door. He walked down the hallway and ended up in the living room where he saw all the adults talking with one another. They didn't notice as Greg walked in the room. The young boy stood up on top of the coffee table and spoke.

"Can I have everyone's attention please, I have something important to say."

He immediately had everybody's attention. "What can we do for you, Gregory?" His Uncle Thomas asked. Greg took a deep breath and continued.

"As you all know, I don't know all that much about who I am, so to figure it out, I would like to ask your permission to go on a journey, which is a quest one takes in order to find self-discovery."

After he got finished, all the adults were quiet and pondered on what they would think about it. Finally one of Greg's uncles spoke up.

"I think it's a great idea, why not let the boy figure himself out."

One of Greg's aunts, Aunt Ester, spoke up as well. "He's too young to be going on his own, why not wait till he's a little older."

"You don't know what you're talking about. Greg is a smart kid."

Papa Funderburker entered the conversation. "I agree with Grandpa Jones, Greg is definitely wise enough to figure things out on his own, I mean, do you know how many languages the kid speaks?"

The argument went on for a while, until finally, a sharp whistle was heard by every ear in the room. Mama Funderburker stood in the center of the room beside the coffee table Greg was standing on.

Obviously Mama Funderburker was the head of the house, so any final decision would be made by her. Greg nervously turned his head toward her.

"So, uh, Mama Funderburker, can I uh, can I go on a journey?"

She didn't answer right away. She thought for a second.

"Well Greg, obviously I'm not going to let you go on a journey by yourself, but if someone was to accompany you, I guess it would be alright." Greg nervously fiddled with his fingers.

"So, is that a yes?"

"If you can find at least one person to go with you than I would be fine with it."

Greg smiled. "Okay, thank you Mama Funderburker." Greg jumped off of the table and ran back to his room, but little did he know though, that his frog brother and roommate had been watching the whole thing.

* * *

Greg opened the door to his room and excitedly plopped down on his bed. He could do it. he really could go on a journey and figure out who he truly was. Now the next phase of the plan would be to find someone who would be willing to accompany him.

Jason opened the door and walked in. "Hey Jason, I have great news. Mama Funderburker says that if I can find someone to go with me, then I can go on a journey."

Jason smiled at the news. "Now, who am I gonna get to go with me?" Greg thought for a second. "Sally? Matthew? Jeffry? Tamara? Lilly? Jonas?..."

The list of options just went on and on. Jason smiled as he thought of the perfect person to accompany Greg on his journey.


	5. Chapter 5: The Volunteer

Chapter 5: The Volunteer

If Greg was going to go on a journey and figure out more about himself, than he was going to have to find someone who was willing to go with him. The decision wasn't an easy one to make, and in fact, Greg was still trying to make that decision. He didn't want to do anything that would ultimately destroy his relationship with his siblings but this decision was a tough choice to make.

Mama Funderburker forbid any of the younger frogs to go with him and thought that a better choice would be someone a bit older. But Greg just didn't know who to take with him. On the other hand, Jason really, really wanted to go on Greg's journey with him but not being able to talk really wasn't helping him any. He tried communicating in other ways but whenever he tried, Greg didn't understand what he was trying to say.

Greg was considering every other frog in the house but for some reason he completely missed him. How was that even possible? After all, Greg and Jason had the closest bond so he should have at least asked him already, right? Jason croaked the frog version of a sigh. He would have to find a way to tell Greg sooner or later so he thought he would go try and communicate with him somehow.

Jason hopped from the kitchen, down the long hallway and opened the door to his and Greg's bedroom. The young human was reading a book on elephants. He just loved elephants. Jason started waving his arms in the air to get Greg's attention. The young boy looked up from his book and smiled at his frog brother. "Hi Jason, what are you doing?" Now that he finally had his attention, he could explain to him that he wanted to go along with him.

The frog pulled out a notebook and a pencil and wrote something down on it. He handed it back to Greg for him to read. "Uh, I can't exactly read this." Jason couldn't write very well because his frog hands weren't made for writing. Greg squinted as he tried to read what was written on it. "Uh…" Jason croaked. This was ending up like all his other failed attempts.

Suddenly Greg's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, do you want to go on a journey with me?"

He finally got it. Jason gave the boy a thumbs up in response. Greg smiled.

"You know, I wanted you to come with me but I didn't want it to look like I was playing favorites or anything, but it seems like no one else really wants to go, so sure, you can come along with me."

Well, that explained why Greg didn't ask him if he wanted to go sooner. Greg suddenly got all excited. "Yes, I can finally go on a journey and figure out who I am!" Greg threw his hands up in victory. "Come on, let's go tell Mama Funderburker!"

Greg immediately took his frog brother's hand and pulled him out of the room against his will, but Jason didn't mind so much.

Little did the two know however, was that the Pilgrim's bluebird companion was listening to them the entire time. She immediately flew off. 

* * *

The adults were gathered in the living room waiting for Greg to say what he wanted to say.

"Alright everybody!" Greg shouted as he stood on top of the coffee table once again. He took out a trumpet he found and started blowing in, trying so get everyone's attention and sound official at the same time. After the adults took the trumpet away from him, Greg spoke.

"Everybody listen up, I would like to make an announcement."

"We're listening Greg." One of his uncles said.

"Just say what you want to say." Said another.

Greg cleared his throat to sound professional, and then spoke.

"As you all know, I asked to go on a journey a few days ago and I was told I could as long as I had someone to go with me. Well today, I have that someone and it is my frog brother and roommate, Jason."

The frog in question hopped into the room and stood on the coffee table next to Greg.

"Well, I'm glad you can finally go out and explore yourself some." One of his elders spoke up in the crowd.

Another one scoffed. "I still think he's way too young to be doing this."

"He'll be fine. He has Jason. I know those two will do their best to protect each other should the need arise."

Greg was actually surprised that most of his frog elders were on his side with only a few who weren't. Greg figured he was lucky because usually when people vote, the majority always wins, and he was just glad that the majority was on his side. Jason was also happy that he would be accompanying his human brother on his summer long journey. They were both really excited.

Greg tugged on his frog brother's arm and pulled him out of the room against his will once again. He tugged him down the long hallway and behind their bedroom door. "This is so exciting, I just can't wait." Jason croaked a croak that seemed to confirm his excitement. "Let's start packing, we're leaving in a few days." The two just couldn't hide their enthusiasm for the journey no matter how hard they tried.

"Who knows what we'll discover on our journey."

The sun had started setting and the bluebird was outside and listening again. She knew that she was definitely going to have to remember this conversation. The brother's continued to talk and the sun continued to go down in the distance. Having heard enough, the bird flew off and away from the house, having new information to tell the Pilgrim. 

* * *

The waterfall was rushing at full speed just as it always had. The Pilgrim stood in the darkness, waiting for his companion to show up. Right on cue, the shadow heard the flapping of wings in the distance. The bluebird landed on the big tree next to The Pilgrim, trying to catch her breath.

"Whoa, calm down, what happened to you?"

The bird didn't answer right away but instead took some time to catch her breath.

"I-I found out something that I think you need to know." The Pilgrim suddenly became concerned. "What is it?" The bird looked up at him. "It's about Greg."

The Pilgrim's eyes widened in horror. "What happened? Is he okay? Is he hurt?" |

The bird sighed. "No you dork, he's not hurt, I just have some new that you need to know about him."

The Pilgrim took a deep breath. "If there's nothing wrong with him then why did you make it sound like there was?"

"Because obviously, I was trying to catch my breath."

"Oh, right."

The bird shook it off. "Alright, I need to tell you that because he doesn't know very much about himself, Greg is going to go on a journey for the summer to figure some things out."

The Pilgrim had to think about the information he had just been given.

"So I guess we have to keep an eye on him, huh?"

The bird nodded. "I guess so, but it's not just him, his frog sibling is coming along with him, Jason Funderburker I think was his name." The Pilgrim nodded in understanding. Chances were that this was going to be a long summer. A thought ran through The Pilgrim's head.

"Do you think that maybe…"

The shadowed pilgrim stopped mid-sentence. "Maybe what?" The bird asked him.

"Oh, it's nothing, never mind."

The bluebird had a pretty good idea of what he was asking. "You know, that might not be such a bad idea, but…you know."

The Pilgrim sighed. "I know, but still."

The bird saw how he stared at the waterfall and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it'll be alright." The Pilgrim smiled back at her. "I know it will."

The waterfall pulled the two in and they kept on watching it in silence without another word spoken.


	6. Chapter 6: Setting Off

Chapter 6: Setting Off

Today was the big day. The day that Greg and Jason would be leaving for their summer long journey. Their plan was to travel around and see The Unknown and visit places that they had never been and be back by the end of summer. Of course they would have to avoid The Beast who no doubt would try to take advantage of them of they got lost, but most of the frog elders trusted them enough to do so.

Out of the both of them, Greg had to be the most excited. All he would keep talking about is how much fun this journey would be. All his life he's read about how people go on journeys of self discovery and find things that they had never even dreamed of finding and Greg just hoped that he would find something incredible while he was away.

Jason was also excited although he didn't show it as much. The frog wanted to accompany his brother and he also thought that they might find something exiting along the way. Something about this summer just seemed special to them for some reason, like something big was waiting to happen. Little did Greg actually know though, that there was. Fate sometimes had a weird way of making big things happen.

Greg loved elephants. In fact, he loved them so much that he would sometimes wear the silver kettle on his head and pretend that he had a trunk. He did it so much that everyone got used to it and thought of him whenever a kettle was even mentioned. He was planning on wearing it on his journey because he was so used to wearing it by now, so he thought, hey, why not?

The two brothers were busy packing at the moment as it was planned that they would leave later in the day. They had one big bag that they were using for both of them. They were packing the essentials along with a few personal possessions.

Greg was taking his tea kettle as well as his locket half of his human brother. He always carried the locket with him because it helped him feel connected to his human family. It was one of his most important possessions and a relic of his past, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

Packing was almost over and done with. They had to run it all by Mama Funderburker first so that she could approve it all. That shouldn't take too long since they had essentials like she had instructed them to pack. If they were going to leave for a little while, then she wasn't just going to let two of her babies go without stern rules and warnings. They understood them all and proceeded with their packing.

"So Jason, are you as excited about the journey as I am?"

The frog smiled and croaked his response. Greg continued on.

"It's gonna be so exciting. Maybe we'll find a magical tiger or a boat full of candy or maybe even a giant orange bird! I would love to see one of those."

Jason smiled at all of Greg's excitement. This journey was probably going to be very interesting and very fun to travel on. The packing went on for some time until the sun was finally at its high point in the sky. Their parents had given them a lot of money for traveling through The Unknown, but they had warned them and told them to use it wisely because chances were that if they spent it all then they most likely wouldn't receive any more or be able to buy anything.

Of course the two understood that just as they understood everything else that their frog elders had warned them about. They knew not to be outside during the night and to always find a place to sleep before then. Their parents had told them about a nearby inn that they could sleep in for their first night, but after that, they would have to start searching for a place to sleep on their own.

That might not be a problem most of the time since there were inns practically everywhere in The Unknown. There were lots of travelers so there had to be lots off inns and the number of travelers out there always put them in good business. After lunch it would be time for them to leave.

Mama Funderburker was having a hard time letting them go but she was doing a very good job of hiding it. She trusted them to be safe though and that was the only reason she agreed to let them go and the fact that Jason was responsible and trustworthy made him an approved choice of Greg's.

* * *

It was finally time.

Time for the frog and human brothers to set off toward the inn and set off toward their journey.

They had their bag packed and ready to go and Greg had his tea kettle secured on his head and ready to go along for the ride. The half locket was on its string hanging around his neck as always. Their frog siblings had all joined them outside to say goodbye and send them off. The frog elders had also joined them outside, including the ones who objected. They figured that if they were leaving anyway then they might as well say goodbye.

"Goodbye Bradley, Goodbye Mirabelle, Goodbye Tamara, Goodbye Max, Goodbye Johnny, Goodbye Sally, Goodbye..."

The goodbyes were taking a little while because there were just so many siblings to be accounted for. The elders also had to be accounted for of course.

"Goodbye Papa Funderburker, Goodbye Aunt Ester, Goodbye Grandpa Jones..."

The goodbyes went on and after all the siblings and elders had received a goodbye, the two brothers approached Mama Funderburker.

"Goodbye Mama Funderburker, I promise we'll stay safe."

Their frog mother had a wide smile on her face. "Oh my two boys, going on an adventure."

She bent down and kissed them both on the cheek, then embraced them in a hug. "Have fun you two and remember the rules. Remember to return at the end of the summer."

The two smiled. "We will Mama Funderburker, honest."

She smiled wide. "I love you and I trust you two. Oh, and one more rule I forgot to mention."

"What is it?"

"Just remember to have fun alright?"

The brothers smiled up at her. "Don't worry, we will."

"Alright, we'll see you at the end of the summer okay?"

Greg put on a serious look and saluted. "Yes ma'am."

Greg and Jason both turned with Greg holding the bag. They started walking down the path waving back to their siblings and elders who were cheering them on like they were warriors heading into battle. The send off went on for a while until neither of them could be seen anymore. They headed toward the inn that they were recommended to stay in for the night.

"So Jason, what do you think we should do tomorrow?" Jason had no idea. He didn't want to start thinking about that until they had gotten a place to stay for the night. Finally it was time for the journey of self discovery. Who knows what they would discover.

As the two kept on walking, Greg's very own guardian angel stood from atop a nearby mountain, watching him and making sure he was safe.


	7. Chapter 7: Bluebird Encounter

Chapter 7: Bluebird Encounter

During the night, as the moon was out and the stars were shining, the shadow of a bird could faintly be seen, flying across The Unknown. She had been practicing how to navigate her way in the dark for years, so finding her destination wasn't hard for her. She was returning because she knew that she had an important mission that she needed to complete.

This wasn't another crime fighting mission that she had grown so accustomed to, this particular mission was different. Using only the stars for navigation, the bluebird flew towards her companion who was patently waiting. The bird ended her flight and landed on a rock. She noticed as The Pilgrim appeared next to her.

"Has he left yet?" The bird snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at the shadow. "Yeah, he and Jason just left a few hours ago."

The Pilgrim nodded and took a seat next to the bird. "I haven't seen him in so long. I wonder what he's like."

"Well" the bird began "He doesn't seem emotionally traumatized, so that's good." The bird thought for a second. "Actually, he seemed happy to be living life."

The Pilgrim smiled. "That's good."

The shadow looked back up at the stars planning to lose himself in his thoughts. The bird noticed this and spoke. "He doesn't even know, but they say that journeys are good at helping a person discover them self. I mean, your journey isn't over and there's still more to discover. Who knows what you'll find."

The Pilgrim turned to the bird and gave her a smile. "Thanks." The bird returned the smile. A few seconds later, The Pilgrim broke out of his thoughts.

"Are you all caught up on the plan?" The bird playfully rolled her eyes.

"Yes, we've been over it a million times." The Pilgrim laughed a bit nervously. "Right."

The bird smiled. "Well, I guess we'd better get to sleep if we want to start in the morning." The Pilgrim nodded in agreement. He took one last look back at the stars and smiled.

* * *

The sun came out the next morning to shine its light on The Unknown. Greg and Jason had left the inn earlier in the morning to get started on the second day of their journey. They had planned to head up to a tavern that was rumored to serve only the best of the best and they just had to find out if those rumors were true. The summers in The Unknown were really breathtaking, but also at times it could get really hot. Fortunately, today wasn't one of those days.

The sun was shinning and the birds were chirping and it wasn't nearly as hot as people claimed. Greg sometimes thought that people were just too over dramatic about certain things. They walked along the path that led underneath those strange giant looking trees.

Greg had often wondered about those strange trees and why they looked like they had faces on them. He asked his frog elders at least a dozen questions about them, but they would never tell him anything. Greg had decided to let it go and just continue on.

"HELP!"

The sound of the voice snapped Greg out of his thoughts. He turned and frantically searched for the source of the voice. "Hello, is anybody there?" There was silence for a few seconds before Greg received a response. "Help, i'm stuck!" The voice sounded female. Greg kept searching until he narrowed down the source to a single bush.

He looked deeper inside the bush and found a bluebird struggling to escape from a string of thorns wrapped around it. She saw the boy and spoke. "Hey, kid, get me out of here and I promise i'll return the favor." Greg could only stare at they bird. "How did you get stuck in there?"

"That's not important, just get me out of here and i'll do you a good turn." Greg gasped. "You mean you can turn me into a tiger?" The bird rolled her eyes. "No, i'm not magical, i'll just help you get where you need to go."

Jason wanted them to get to the tavern as soon as possible so he urged for Greg to hurry up and move along. "Alright, I just have to help this little birdie."

Within a few seconds, Greg was able to set the bird free. Jason was unaware of the bird in the bush but now they could get moving again. The bluebird managed a small smile. "Thanks kid." Greg smiled in return. "No problem, so about that favor you promised." The bird rolled her eyes a bit. "According to the bluebird rules, it says that i'm supposed to help you if you help me, so I guess i'll just help you get where you need to go." Greg smiled. "Alright then."

Greg and the bluebird joined Jason and continued walking, or flying in the bird's case. "So, my name is Greg and this is my brother Jason, what's your name?"

"Beatrice." The bird answered.

"We were headed off to that tavern that supposed to serve the best food in the entire Unknown."

"Oh yeah, that place. I went in there one time and the tavern keeper kicked me out with a broom."

Greg looked up at the bird. "Why would they do that?"

"She thought that bluebirds were bad luck, and I can assure you, they're not." After saying that, Beatrice thought for a second. "Well, maybe."

Beatrice looked back up to the sky and saw that the sun was already in the halfway point, signaling that the day was almost over. "Hey kid, do you know if there's an inn nearby?"

Greg snapped out of his thoughts and looked back up at the bird. "Uh, yeah, there's one just up ahead of here that we were planning to stay in for the night."

"Good, then we'll stay there tonight and get back on the road in the morning." Greg and Jason nodded in understanding. Beatrice sighed and smiled.

As the three kept on traveling, Beatrice couldn't help but think. She hoped that this mission would be successful and her companion wouldn't do something stupid while she was away, but she knew that he probably would because she knew how he could be. She's had to get him out of trouble more times than she could count.

She really hoped that Greg wasn't one of those troublemakers, and even though he didn't really come off as one, she knew how deceitful people could be. She looked back at Greg and smiled. If this was going to work, then she would have to keep quiet about what was going on, because if Greg found out, then nothing would ever be the same for him.


	8. Chapter 8: Of Bandits And Heroes

Chapter 8: Of Bandits And Heroes

Greg, Jason and Beatrice left the inn early the next morning to get a head start on their journey for the day. The day was pretty much the same as the day before, with the wind blowing and the sun shining and the birds singing through the trees. With things like these, Greg felt like he could do anything. Beatrice on the other hand didn't exactly seem thrilled with the sunshine and cool breezes. All she wanted to do was get moving onto their next destination.

Greg would often ask her why she was so insistent on moving instead of stopping for a second to see everything. She just told him that if they wanted to get to another inn by nightfall, then they had to keep moving.

There were times when Greg wondered about this Beast character. At first he thought it was just some kind of story meant to scare children to keep them inside at night, but as time went on, he started to see that grown-ups showed true fear towards speaking of The Beast, and they all assured him that The Beast was real, and that he would never want to run into him on a dark night.

Jason was doing almost as well as Greg, getting only a little annoyed whenever the bird would get a bit snappish or controlling. Over all, the journey so far wasn't too bad. It would just be a matter of time before they would make it to the tavern and try all the good tasting food.

"So Beatrice, where is your home?" Greg asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

Beatrice just shrugged and gave him a nonchalant answer. "I don't have one."

Greg frowned. "Really? Everyone should have a home."

The bird continued to focus on the road ahead. "Well, I don't. Not a house home at least."

Greg nodded and continued walking. The bird never looked down at the ground unless it was absolutely necessary. She would only look at the road in front of them. The three kept on walking as they were approaching a forest entrance.

"All this flying is exhausting." Beatrice said as she closed her eyes to catch a breath for a second. As they approached the forest entrance, Beatrice opened up her eyes again, but soon after she did, a bunch of shadows appeared in front of them, coming from inside the forest.

Greg and Jason were both taken by surprise. Beatrice wanted to fly off and warn her companion, but she knew that she couldn't just leave these two behind. The shadows soon subsided to reveal eight intimidating men, who they all assumed to be dangerous bandits. And they were right.

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys? Move along!" Beatrice snapped at them, trying to hide how scared she really was.

The one in the middle, who they all assumed to be the leader of the clan, had an evil smirk on his face. "You shouldn't have come here. This is our territory."

"Territory? What you just show up and suddenly you think you own the place? Can you believe this guy?"

If Jason could talk, he'd probably tell Beatrice to shut her beak before she made it any worse. "You three have entered our private domain, so now you all have to pay."

Greg didn't know what to do in this situation, so he and Jason just calmly started to back away. Unfortunately for them however, the bandits noticed this and immediately stopped them. The leader of the group slowly reached for his sword and pulled it out slowly, giving them all a chance to look at its sharp blade. He held it up and was about to swing it down, when another mysterious figure fell out of the tree above them.

The bandit leader was taken by surprise when his blade clashed with another blade. The other three were taken by surprise as well. Everyone's shock cleared up and the figure was revealed to be a boy in his teens, wearing old timey looking clothes with a blue cloak with three gold buttons in the front, and a pointed red hat that looked like something a gnome would wear. For some reason, Greg couldn't help but find this stranger trustworthy and familiar.

"Hurry up and run!" He said to the two behind him.

Greg was still trying to process everything that had happened. "Come on, let's get out of here." Beatrice said to them. Greg, Jason, and Beatrice immediately took off towards the forest.

Meanwhile the teenager was fighting off the bandits. "Taking on a kid, a frog, and a bird. That really is low, even for someone like you."

The bandit leader took a second and eyed the teenager. "Wait a second, I know you, you're the kid that hustled me the other day."

Their swords locked and the bandit could see a small smirk on the boy's face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He was able to push the bandit back and watch him crash into his own group. The boy took this to his advantage and ran the same way Greg and Jason did through the forest. The bandits had gotten up and started chasing after him, but the teenager had already gotten a head start.

He silently smirked at how they all tried to catch up. It was actually pretty funny to watch them trip over each other trying to reach him. He knew he couldn't stay and watch though, so he just kept on running.

* * *

The three of them were navigating their way through the forest with all its twist and turns. They had to get away from those bandits and Beatrice was doing her best to guide the two of them to safety. They finally stopped when Beatrice decided that they were already far enough away. They all took a minute to catch their breaths.

"That was crazy." Greg said after a few minutes. Beatrice took a cautious look over her shoulder to make sure that no one was trying to track them down. "Yeah, there are a lot of people like that in The Unknown, so it's best that you steer clear of them."

They took another couple of minutes to catch their breaths. Greg didn't notice as a figure appeared behind him. One arm wrapped itself around his waist and the other wrapped itself around his mouth. He was about to scream, when a voice spoke.

"It's okay, it's just me, I wont hurt you." It was the boy from before. Something inside Greg told him that he was trustworthy, so he just went with it.

The boy picked up Greg and Jason and started running. They could hear the voices of the bandits behind him, so the boy picked up his pace. When he finally thought they were out of range, the teenager carried the two behind a tree, where they could faintly hear voices yelling after them. The boy took his arm away from Greg's mouth and let him out of the hold.

"Are you alright?" He asked him.

"That was awesome! You completely beat those guys! That is so cool that you can fight like that!"

The boy smiled a little and stood up. "Yeah well, you really should stay away from people like them. The Unknown can get to be a really dangerous place."

He started walking off. "Wait, don't go yet!" Greg called after him.

The teenager turned to acknowledge him. "I've gotta get going now. I have some things I need to attended to."

Greg understood. "Oh. Will I ever see you again?"

He sent the young boy a small smile. "Maybe."

Greg realized that there was something he'd forgotten to do. "Thanks for saving us!" He called after him.

The teenager smiled and then disappeared like he was never there in the first place. Beatrice was watching the whole thing in silence. She knew that he would jump in and save them if anyone ever attacked them, and that's exactly what happened. She looked back in the direction that he'd left. She was now sure that Greg and Jason would be having one interesting journey this summer. She turned back to the two boys.

"Come on. We're losing daylight." The two agreed and started following her, with Greg still wondering about that boy who had saved his life.


	9. Chapter 9: Beast's Minions

Chapter 9: Beast's Minions

The Pilgrim snuck through the forest late one night. It wasn't exactly easy for him to navigate his way through without his bluebird companion, but he had done it before and he was managing. His mission for tonight, was not to take down a gang of rogue criminals, but to spy on his most despised enemy. He was headed near the heart of the forest to listen in on another one of his enemy's lectures on how they were going to deal with him.

His number one enemy in the entire Unknown was the one thing that was hated and feared by everybody. The Beast. The Pilgrim and The Beast have had a long history of fighting against each other and The Pilgrim almost always won.

That irritated The Beast and the monster would want nothing more than to make him pay. The Pilgrim was working as hard as he could to stop The Beast, but it just seemed that he wasn't any closer to finding out how to do it. The Pilgrim stopped walking and started climbing up a tree to get a better view of what was about to go down. The tree was high enough that it would block him from view.

The Pilgrim waited a little while, and soon, he started to see a bunch of shadows running along the trees. He knew that it was almost time to begin. The shadows all formed into a huge group and assembled in a circle, and in the middle of the circle, stood their dark lord himself. The Pilgrim got into a comfortable position and started listening.

"Alright everyone, it's time to begin the discussion on what to do with our number one burden, The Pilgrim of the Night."

While up in the tree, The Pilgrim couldn't help but roll his eyes. _'Yeah, because we both know that you have nothing else to talk about.'_

He had to suppress a laugh that was threatening to escape. The Beast continued on. "As we all know, he has stopped our plans on more than one occasion and he has killed more of you than we can count."

All of the shadow monsters whispered in agreement. The Pilgrim had given up trying to understand what they were whispering about a long time ago. "He is more in tune with being in the shadows now than he was years before. For all we know, he could be listening to us this very minute."

The Pilgrim smiled smugly. _'You know me so well.'_

"Our only hope in defeating him is finding something personal, something or someone that holds value to him. We have to find them and take them, and after that, that cocky Pilgrim will finally crack."

After hearing this, The Pilgrim's heart sank and his insides started turning within his stomach. He did have a person that was of special value to him, someone who he hadn't seen in years and had just met the other day. Someone who he would never want to have fall into The Beast's hands.

The Beast continued. "If we could find someone that The Pilgrim holds dear, then we can use them to break him and make him surrender to our cause. An asset like him would be very valuable."

All of the shadowed creatures murmured in agreement. The Pilgrim's heart couldn't seem to stop beating and he started cold sweating with fear. "If any one of you find any new information on The Pilgrim's loved ones, then you are to report it to the group immediately." All of the shadows whispered together in agreement.

"Meeting adjourned." As soon as The Beast said this, all of the shadow creatures split up and with sharp screams, disappeared into the shadows once again.

The Pilgrim took a second and started taking some deep breaths to try and calm himself down. After a few minutes, The Pilgrim climbed down and out of the tree. He was still breathing heavily and he continued to try and calm down. While he was panting and heavily breathing in and out, there was only one thought on his mind.

"...Greg."

The Pilgrim could only think about the young boy that he had saved the other day. Before he knew it, The Pilgrim started running away from the forest heart and towards the outer edges where his bluebird companion was sure to be found. He had to tell her everything, immediately.

One of the reasons The Pilgrim stayed away was because if The Beast ever found out about how much he loved him, then he would do whatever he could to try and take him away and corrupt him. It just wasn't until now that The Beast decided to put that plan into action. He had to stop The Beast, and he knew it, but he didn't know of any ways to possibly kill him. As far as he knew, The Beast couldn't be killed. But then again, no one had ever tried.

The Pilgrim kept on running and he was just lucky that none of the shadowed creatures that resided in that territory caught him. He kept on running and he didn't once think about stopping. He knew that he had to keep on running until he was out of the forest heart, and it seemed to be taking a bit longer than usual. He had to get out of there before he was caught by The Beast's shadow creatures. Who knows what they would do to him.

The Beast would often use his minions to strike fear into the hearts of people in The Unknown, and other times he would use them to seduce people and make the person join them, but it would only happen under special circumstances and not all the time.

The Pilgrim kept running until eventually, he was out of the heart and more towards the outer edge. None of the shadow creatures had caught him, so that was good. He still had to tell his bluebird companion about the discussion that took place at the meeting. He thought about it some more and figured that she was asleep at the moment.

If she were there with him, then she would probably be nagging at him and telling him to get some sleep as well. He took some time to catch his breath again after all of that running. He just couldn't stop thinking about Greg in danger. He wasn't really taking it very well. He sighed in exhaustion and a little bit of frustration.

As he thought about it some more, he thought that it would be a good idea to do what his partner would want and get some rest. Even if he woke up from nightmares, he at least had to try. He sighed and looked up at the crescent moon. This was definitely going to be a long journey, not just for Greg, but for him as well.

He started looking around to try and find a place to sleep. Eventually, after a bunch of walking around, he found him and his partner's waterfall watching cliff and decided to sleep there. He had slept there many times before, and this time was almost no different. The Pilgrim lied down on his pillow top dirt bed, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10: We Meet Again

Chapter 10: We Meet Again

Everything was back to normal come the next morning. Greg, Jason, and Beatrice were up and back on the road again, ready for another day of their journey. The tavern was only a couple of days away, so the three of them should be able to get there in no time.

"So I was thinking that after we go to the tavern, we could try and find a lamp with a magical tiger genie who could turn us all into magical tigers."

Jason croaked at the idea. Greg looked up at the bird. "What do you think Beatrice? Where do you think we should go after the tavern?"

Beatrice shrugged. "I don't know. It's your journey."

Greg decided to leave her alone for now and keep on discussing the journey's events with Jason. "What do you think we should do after the tavern, Jason?"

The frog could only croak his response. "Well, I guess we could just keep on walking and see what we find."

Beatrice raised an eyebrow and looked down at him. "Wait, you can understand what he's saying?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, can't you?"

Beatrice thought for a second with wide eyes and continued looking ahead. Greg and Jason continued talking for a while. "Maybe, if we get lucky, we'll find something magical, or, we might even be able to see The Beast."

Beatrice shifted her eyes down at the two. "You don't want to meet The Beast, trust me, he's bad news."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "How do you know? Have you ever met The Beast?"

Beatrice paused. "...No."

"See? If you've never met him, than how do you know he's evil? He could just be some misunderstood-"

"I just know, okay!" The bird snapped.

Greg decided to let go and change the subject. Beatrice sighed. "I'm sorry, I just don't like talking about him."

Greg nodded. "It's okay, I understand."

He smiled up at her and she smiled back a little. As they kept on walking, Greg couldn't help but wonder. Was The Beast really all that scary? He didn't know what he would do if he ever met The Beast, but judging by what everyone else said, they wouldn't try and befriend him. As they were walking however, they started hearing some noise from up ahead. It kind of sounded like distant screaming.

"Hang on, I'm going to go scout up ahead." The bird took off down the path to see what lied ahead.

What she saw was not what she expected, and yet, it didn't surprise her. She saw the boy with the pointed cone and blue cape running from a group of burly looking men. "...Here we go." She muttered.

She immediately flew back to her two companions. "You two, into the forest, now."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Beatrice was really in a hurry. "No questions, just do it!"

The two of them fled off into the forest. Meanwhile, the teenager was having a bit of trouble escaping the convicts. He was skinnier and faster, and yet, they were catching up to him. He would normally be smirking in victory, but not this time. They almost grabbed ahold of his cape, so he pulled it back towards him to where they couldn't grab it. He had ran for some time when he started slowing down. He figured he could take a shortcut through the forest and try to lose them.

That would most likely be an advantage since he knew the forest better than they probably did. With one burst of speed, the boy entered the forest, dodging trees while the convicts were yelling after him, probably having a hard time catching up. Eventually, the boy figured that he was far away enough that he could stop and catch his breath. The screaming in the distance died down and the boy took refuge next to a large rock.

"What are you doing?"

The boy let out a girlish shriek before turning to the young boy wearing a tea pot. "Oh, it's just you."

The boy sighed and resumed catching his breath. "Why were you running from those guys?"

Greg asked. They boy seemed a bit nervous. "It's complicated, it's nothing really."

The bird sat on the ground and stared at the boy, a smirk playing on her beak. "You hustled them, didn't you?"

The three of them turned their attention to the bird. "Beatrice, you can't just assume that he was hustling."

Beatrice scoffed. "Look at him. He's got 'hustler' written all over him."

The boy gave the bird a cold, steely glare before his expression softened. "Alright, so I might have, hustled them a time or two."

Greg's eyes widened. "You did? Hustling is dangerous you know."

"Yes, I know, I know it's dangerous."

"Then, why do you do it?"

The boy sighed. "I don't know."

He buried his hands into his face and Greg smiled. "It's okay, you know, you run pretty fast, faster than anyone I've seen."

The boy smiled. "Thanks."

Greg gasped with delight. "Did you find a magical tiger genie?"

The boy chuckled and stood up. "No, but if I did, wouldn't I be the lucky one."

Greg smiled. "You know, we were heading down to that famous tavern, you know, the one that makes the greatest food in the entire Unknown. Wanna come with us?"

The boy thought for a second. "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

Greg smiled. "Okay. My name is Greg and this is Jason and Beatrice. What's your name?"

The teenager thought for a second. "My name?"

He looked back down at the boy who was smiling expectantly. "No, I-I shouldn't."

"Oh, your shy, I understand, well, let's get going."

The four of them started walking again, or flying in Beatrice's case. The boy sent Beatrice another glare while the bluebird just smirked. "So, how did you get so good with a sword?" Greg asked, breaking the teenager out of his thoughts.

"Oh, my uncle taught me. He taught me about fighting too, so I use it when I need it."

Greg nodded. "That's cool. It's good to have something that you're good at."

They walked until they were out of the forest and then they started walking down the path that they were headed down in the first place. "So, have you been to the tavern before?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah actually, I've been there a few times before."

"Does the food taste as good as everybody says?"

The teenager nodded. "Yeah, it really does."

Greg's eyes widened. "I knew it."

The boy smiled slightly. "I have some friends that go there, so I try to go when I can."

Greg smiled. "Maybe we can meet some of them."

The boy smiled. "Sure, why not."

Greg cheered. "Yeah!"

The four of them kept on walking down the path and near the next inn. Beatrice flew above them, looking ahead and never looking down as usual. The teenager was actually enjoying talking to Greg and Jason while Beatrice kept quiet.

Greg was enjoying himself as well and was proud of the fact that he probably made a friend today. He just couldn't help but find him familiar somehow. Familiar and calming, like, he'd known him before. It would only be a matter of time before he found out the truth, he just didn't know it.


End file.
